Cuckoo

Restaurant · Uptown

Cuckoo

Restaurant · Uptown

5143 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640

Highlights

Korean fried chicken, bibimbap and bubble tea served in a comfortable setting with wi-fi.

5143 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640 Get directions

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@infatuation

"If Cuckoo’s cute yellow interior and goofy plush chickens on every table don’t cheer you up after a sh*tty day, their Korean-fried wings and bubble tea will. Their wings are light and crispy, and come in five varieties: soy garlic (our favorite), sweet and spicy, honey mustard, curry, and snow onion (a peppery yogurt sauce). And if you can’t decide, just get their sampler platter. For $30 you get two wings per sauce, plus fries, takoyaki, and a pork bun. The space isn’t too big, but there’s usually an open table, making it easy to drop by for a chill catch-up with a friend or a quick solo bite. " - sam faye, adrian kane, john ringor

Where To Eat In Andersonville

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@infatuation

"If Cuckoo’s bright yellow interior and silly plush chickens on every table don’t cheer you up after a sh*tty day, their Korean-fried wings and bubble tea will. The wings at this casual Andersonville spot have a light and crispy batter, and come in five varieties: soy garlic (our favorite), sweet and spicy, honey mustard, curry, and snow onion (a peppery yogurt sauce). And if you're feeling indecisive, just get their sampler platter. For $30 you get two wings per sauce, plus fries, takoyaki, and a pork bun. The space isn’t too large, but tables are often open, so it’s easy to pop in for a catch-up meal with a friend, or a quick solo bite." - John Ringor

Cuckoo Review - Andersonville - Chicago - The Infatuation

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@eater

"Colorful neighborhood cafe Cuckoo debuted last month with enormous Korean fried chicken sandwiches, Korean and Japanese rice bowls, a variety of cold tea drinks and boba, and more. The pink-and-yellow counter service spot took over the former home of Ora, a sushi restaurant in the midst of a six-block move down Clark Street to a space that previously housed Blu 57 Seafood. Cuckoo, 5143 N. Clark Street, Open 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday and Monday; 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 11: 30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday." - Naomi Waxman

A Pair of French Landmarks Reopen in Winnetka and Eight More Openings - Eater Chicago

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Alex Anne Mastroni

Google

This is my quiet place when I need some serenity from work. Happy music is playing, and the entire place is bright yellow with plushie chickens on the tables in yellow buckets. In the employees' downtime, I see them washing the space down and cleaning up. Hand sanitizer is on each table for before or after your meal if you make a mess of yourself. Guilty! I always come for the Korean fried chicken and was just tickled the first time I came in and they served the wings with a pair of gloves to keep your hands clean. At first I thought it was silly and I wasn't going to use them, but then I was like f that! I walked out of that place as clean as a whistle after guzzling down my fried chicken and pickled radish. The Snow onion flavor has a lightweight batter with a peppery sauce. I've never had a cheese cloud before and was obviously intrigued like any American citizen would be. I quickly learned that a cheese cloud is made of cream cheese, whipping cream, milk, and sugar. So duh, who wouldn't like it? There was plenty of crystal boba to get you through the entire drink. The cheese foam is like a special treat at the end, almost like your dessert at the end of a meal.

Eden Stav Stein-McLeod

Google

I'd rate Cuckoo, like 3.99 stars. The service and the atmosphere are always great, but the food alternatives between being "amazing - some of the best Korean fried chicken I've had" to "this is fine." - It's never bad food, but the main problem is that they don't have a consistent product. Sometimes the chicken is much crispier than others, sometimes it's much saucier than others. I love the snow onion chicken in particular, for example, but sometimes the onions are perfectly thinly sliced and other times they're cut so thickly that it detracts from the balance. It's reliably good enough that I enjoy eating there somewhat frequently when I don't want to cook, but I really just wish they could have more consistency, especially on how much sauces they put on the chicken (favoring the high side of average).

Dan Thompson

Google

Food was dripping with so much grease it made me queasy. I get that it’s fried food, but the prep of it left a LOT to be desired. We did not finish our food and ended up throwing it out. The only thing that tasted good was the boba drinks - had one with avocado that was quite interesting. Overall I would not recommend.

Grace Kleaveland Kupczak

Google

The soy garlic wings are excellent and staff is always very nice. Restaurant is clean and bright. A great addition to Andersonville!

Tim Cheng

Google

I found the sweet and spicy chicken sandwich substantial, balanced, and flavorful. The chicken was coated with a thick and very crispy breading layer and was noticeably tender through the entire sandwich. The breading and lettuce provided a great contrast of fresh and savory crunchiness against the soft and sweet bread, and the sauces, while piquant, never overwhelmed the other flavors of the sandwich. The chicken sandwich was a very happy experience. I also had the pork buns, which I found blatantly mediocre. The buns were very dry at some points and almost wet at others, as though parts of the buns were steamed selectively. The pork belly inside tasted plain bad, and was tougher than any other braised pork belly I've had from an Asian restaurant. I'd stick to the sandwich.

Klaudia L

Google

Easily the best chicken sandwich I've ever had. I got the soy and garlic sandwich - perfectly marinated, juicy and not oily, the flavour is just divine. Crispy but not overly hard. The portion size is huge, like a whopper, the bread was fresh and yummy. Tip: sandwich takes about 10-15 minutes to make, so if you're not dining in, call ahead to order. I didn't take a photo of the sandwich before I started handling it - hence the unflattering photos. Do yourself a favour and try one. (My bff, a Korean Fried Chicken aficionado, said the coconut curry and plain wings were 🔥🔥🔥)

Archit Jha

Google

🐥🍛🧋Cute, casual spot in Andersonville with east meets west comfort food menu. There’s Korean fried chicken, rice bowls, Japanese dishes and bubble tea. While the menu selection is pretty good not all the dishes hit the mark. We liked the rice bowls,buns and takoyaki more than the fried chicken. It’s all fresh and cooked great but we prefer punchier flavors for the sauce as compared to the mild ones Cuckoo has. They have a coconut curry sauce that’s unique. Ordering experience is a breeze with the digital kiosk or the counter. This location is self-serve. However, the staff is warm and friendly.

Cody Marshall

Google

Sweet and Spicy sandwich was pretty delish but a bit of a mess to eat. Pork Katsudon was seasoned amazingly, tender and delicious.